Twenty licenses awarded for medical marijuana sales

The Department of Public Health announced 20 provisional licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries on Friday, including two in Boston but none in Dukes, Nantucket, Franklin or Berkshire counties.

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

The Department of Public Health announced 20 provisional licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries on Friday, including two in Boston but none in Dukes, Nantucket, Franklin or Berkshire counties. The agency invited eight applicants to seek alternate locations in counties that were not selected for dispensaries. The law authorizing medical marijuana in Massachusetts, which was approved by voters at the ballot in 2012, called for up to 35 licenses to be issued, with at least one in every county. Critics of the licensing process, including the Massachusetts Republican Party, questioned the level of transparency, describing it "politicized and secretive" and alleging that state Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett is too closely associated with former Congressman William Delahunt, who is among the license applicants with political ties. Delahunt's group – Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts – was awarded provisional licenses for dispensaries in Mashpee, Taunton and Plymouth. DPH in January appointed Karen van Unen, the former chief operating officer of a Dorchester public health program, as executive director of its medical marijuana program and empowered her with the final decisions on all licenses. The Massachusetts Medical Society cautioned Friday that marijuana's effectiveness as medicine has not been scientifically proven, and said its increased availability presents implications for occupational safety, and "poses health risks of toxins and cognitive impairment." Middlesex County - the state's most populous county - received the highest number of dispensary licenses, with four in Lowell, Ayer, Newton and Cambridge. Approved licensees: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/quality/drugcontrol/medical-marijuana/applications/results/approved-for-provisional-license.pdf Invited for alternate locations: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/quality/drugcontrol/medical-marijuana/applications/results/invited-seek-alternate-location.pdf